The Building Of A Dream: August 2015

May began to see many changes. The countertops, then the tile. Unfortunately for me, May happens to also be an incredibly busy time for me at work. In fact, from about April through November, I am usually jumping from one work project to the next with not a lot of time to breath. But it all must be done, so we just do. We have done much of the finish work ourselves, and had anticipated doing most of the tile ourselves, but decided to have our builders sub put in the tile instead. We had three differnt tiles chosen. One for the kitchen, one from my upstairs bathroom and then one that would be used in the mudroom, laundry room, powder-room and our main level master or guest bedroom.

Hoping that it won't show dirt!! I had this tile picked last November.

I have always loved black and white, and have always wanted a classic black and white tile floor. When I told Dan this is what I wanted for my loft bathroom, which is referred to as "my" bathroom, he wasn't exactly game, but I assured him it would be awesome, and NO, these are not individual tiles that needed to be laid. they came on a mesh. 8 x 8 tile, but yes, they all had to be grouted in.

Learning from the master

Dan's grandpa, Earl Grant, had been a carpenter for many years. I am told he was a perfectionist. Some how, Dan inherited both his grandfathers desire to work with wood, and his attention to detail. Over the years he has learned much about stain and finish. So while getting a little help from daughter Jennifer and son in law Grant, my husband gave them a lesson on staining windows. So all in one day we got all the windows in the upstairs stained all at one time.

This spring I started a landscaping project. My mission was to give color to the inner circle of our circle drive.

Last fall on our 26th Anniversary I purchased this wee little maple tree. Maples are a favorite of Dan and I, I cannot wait to see it's colors here in a few short weeks. We had actually transplanted a young cedar tree not far from where we planted the maple, but he did not survive. we found out later that it is really difficult to transplant cedars. I had named the little cedar Ralph. RIP Ralph. You created a nice bonfire.

Dan is a hunter of many things, and spring time yields morels here in Iowa. These are a few that he picked on a break from working on the house.

CARPET!! in the basement meant we could go back to the storage unit and grab our couch, and give Jen and Grant back their O gravity outdoor recliner chairs.
Our neighbor Jeff, excuse me, former neighbor Jeff, but still good friend, and Grant could not pass up the chance to sofa surf back to Jen and Grants from the storage facially.

Last shot of Dan's Man Cave room

My laundry room is taking shape- When I painted this room this green, Dan told me it was hideous and did not go with the house. He then told me that when guest came, the door to the mud room and laundry would remain closed. One of those decorating fights he lost. As we started to add the white cabinets, his opinion softened. The white cabinets really look sharp against that green. Yep! Could have told you that. Actually did tell you that.
When Jake saw this green he started singing John Deere Green. I think he still does from time to time.

The Stone Shop installed our granite counter tops. I cannot say enough about the work they do. Their staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and they really did a great job.

Kitchen is starting to take some shape

Doors added to cabinets in the laundry room

We have the most awesome views of wildlife from our basement family room. In the picture below you will notice our cat looking out the window. This is his typical view, and his typical chair.

Most people who have seen our doors in person comment on the doors. They are beautiful, and something we both agreed on when we saw them. But when we started looking for trim, the only trim in pine is clear pine, without the knots. This was disappointing, but remember I am married to a wood worker, so yes, Dan has milled all of our trim by hand, stained it, finished it and installed it. There is such amazing detail to this wood.

The base

My mom brought me some whiskey bottle from Arakansa

Jake found this whiskey bottle some where on our place.

The mirror that was Dan's inspiration. This mirror, given to me by my mom was what I used to sit in front of when I was a teenager. This is where I learned how to curl my hair, and how to put on make up.

The antique spitoon. Dan and I saw this advertised at an auction just a few miles from us. It was a huge auction and there were many bidders, but this copper piece was meant for me!!